SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME

Come on down to OC Rey, I'll buy you a nice civil cup of java jo . . . & do some friendly yackin'.

Sick as it sounds, $70K is cheep! Thanks for reminding me about how much money we squandered back before buying the 400h. The Full Sized Range Rover REALLY top stupid waste of money .... whish we'd have check consumer reports before we bought one in 2002. You'll have to enlarge the pic, to be able to make out the sticker shock: Over $100,000 after luxury & sales taxes/licensing. oh lord forgive me :( Prior to the extended warranty running out, we unloaded it. But prior to that (as one of many poor quality examples) a "service require" yellow light came on the dash. Boom. charge back to the manufacturer for a new tranny ... which had it not been under warranty? $6,000. Then there was the pathetic 11mpg average, which would have been worse, it I wasn't babying it. Needless to say, in comparison? I love or 400h. Both hyhi AND Lexus are a great deal, for the money you pay.

Don't miss the point ~ which was that if you change out oil/filter in the 5K mile spec ... it aint going to matter that one is a bit better than the other. If you go to the effort to have your used oil anylized, will one brand be better than the other? Yes, but will the significance amount to anything that causes lube related failure? There you go, no. That was the point of the post referencing the unsponsered expert. Consumer reports, too, has rehashed the issue again & again . . . & come to the same conclusion.

But I still consider it a real shame that with the HH and RXh they went for performance rather than FE. I'll wait for the Lexus HSD version of the RAV4 or the RX230H using the I4. Meanwhile with gas at $4.00+ our 93 Ford Ranger with the 2.3L I4 is geeting more duty than normal. When we got our 400h 2yrs ago, I too, lamented over Lexus' emphasis on power versus FE. Ever since '03 I'd been reading up on the quickly ending fossle fuel issue, even as 3rd world countries are ramping up usage to equal our own wastefull ways. But posting here about de-emphasizing power, hoe-my-God. You'd of thought I had the plaque. :P Now that fuel is over $4/gallon & quickly set to double again w/in a couple years, only the staunchest SUV / land barge operators still 'love' the whole 'image' ... and 'I need big' thing. More folks are getting on the 'practical' bandwagon. It's sad that the U.S. has waited so long to prepare for higher economy because it's killing the majority of folks that can't afford high costs for fuel (as well as food, heating, and realisticly, everything else, as the cost of everything else is tied to cheep fuel). And they can't afford to buy a hybrid as well. Our next door neighbor bought the limited hyhi. But 'she-who-must-be-obeyed' wanted the Lexus 'name' over the less expensive hyhi, because for business purposes, she felt it looks more financially sucessful. IMO, I get that 'success' feeling by having the difference sitting in the bank. :D Next car for us will come next year, when Mitsubishi sells it's pure EV here in the U.S. ... it's bye bye Prius. I feel so disloyal. Still, better to recharge our transportation off a bank of photo panels than PI$$ away $100 bill or more, each week.

That article was outdated when the news broke ... at about the same time, that the companies that were going to "profit" by building the "hydrogen highway" realized it was all a big waste. http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/hydrogenhighway/index The article was originally posted in the mercury news. Now, what company in their right mind would build cars, when no company in their right mind would invest 20 trillion dollars to build a loosing proposition. As one hydrogen engineer once put it, "Soon hydrogen will join zeppelins, moving sidewalks, monorails, flying cars, and jet belts on the ash heap of transportation history."

There's a GREAT article in the Wall Street Jornal, stating exactly what the experts have said about hydrogen since the 1970's. Not only hydrogen experts, but even the exec's at both Toyota AND GM . . . that the hydrogen highway is a giant dead end. I'm no fan of Lutz, but on this rare occasion, he's finally starting to make sense. http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB1204...NjYwODY0Wj.html Now think about it ... free research money to waste. Even so, the power players admit they're simply wasting money. Eggs in one basket? Generally true, but hydrogen wastes so much energy, only Daimler hasn't admitted the obvious ... yet. Give 'em time. Toyota often works on 'ideas' ... simply out of fear that they'll miss out. Knowing GM was throwing money at something often causes Toyota to do likewise. This is the case w/ hydrogen. Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe likely knew this years ago, and once GM admitted the dumbness of hydrogen, it freed Toyota to admit what they knew for quite some time.

To bad Toyota isn't listening to one of its top hydrogen fuel cel consultants, Katsuhiko Hirose, Fuel Cell Project general manager of Fuel Cell System Development Group. He was the first to describe the "5 miricles" it would take to ever get hydrogen up and running. http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_...0080409/150240/ Bottom line, ever since the 1970's the industry has said it'll only be another 10years. Today what do they say? Only 10 more years. Worse thing is that the research money (IMO) could better be spent in workable technologies, like plug in hybrids. 'tis a pity.

With the end of cheep oil, if someone threw $20K at me, I'd convert our RX400h to a plug in version. I figure by the time fuel hits $12/gallon in 2 years, it'll have paid for itself.

Yep, the anoying 'ding' mod is an oldie but a goodie. Better not loose those procedures, because the ding will revert if /when you replace your battery, FYI. In fact, just disconecting one terminal is all it takes for the system to revert to default ... which is WITH the ding. Regarding your v7.1 NAV DVD. THAT is not the cause of you not being to use the override. It's the 'loading' file on the DVD, ending in, .kwi if I remember correctly. So, if you have an older DVD, you can make your own custom DVD with the map upgrades, but utilizing the older loading file on the older DVD's. The mod is on this board somewhere. I did it just for yuks, and it does work, but using the aftermarket lockpic is much less of a hastle than piecing together your own NAV DVD. .

Yes. I'm talking about pull to the right on roads with NO high center. Roads that have high centers (for drainage) simply exascerbate the condition. Has anyone found a cheep place for alignments? Took it in to Firestone & they claimed that due to the 400h having headlights that turn with tires/steering wheel turning, THEY couldn't do it ... because cars like that require special equipment. Anyone else heard of such a thing?

so did they ever get it fixed? Mine does this too. Robl45, you're asking folks a question that could have died almost two years ago ... that's how old the OP is :P Even so, I have an alignment quandry. Ours is pulling to the right too. Firestone has a "Lifetime Alignment" for appx $140. Took it down there and you won't BELIEVE what they told me. "Can't do your car ~ because it needs special equipment that we don't have". Hugh? Isn't the RX basicly the same as the Highlander? . . . and don't both simply sit on a camry chassis? I threw that out to the fine Firestone folks, hoping they'd say, ok, we'll do it. To my confusion, they replied, "Your Lexus has turning headlights, and since they turn with the wheels turning, it takes special equipment". Firestone told me the 400h, due to it's headlights that turn with tire/steering wheel turns, has to be aligned at the Lexus dealer. Anyone else hear of that? Anybody else had an alignment anywhere else? Thanks ... we're just trying to avoid the highest price service, if possible. Edit: You know, after reading old post on 'suspension' issues (assumed because of irregular tire wear) or issues with just tire wear, perhaps ALL these issues can be chocked up to alignment. Just a thought. .

Er, ahh, heloo ~ anybody reading these posts ... like maybe just 10 posts back or so? :P That's an old article. Their prices are even higher now. The picture I posted in my earlier post, previous page, shows that their city is about a quarter a gallon higher since that article came out last month. And I'll bet it's even higher since my photo was pasted into my last post. That's pretty scary. Changing the subject abruptly (but still on high fuel costs) ~ what gets ME is NOT so much the fact that fuel will continue to spiral ever upward as demand increases exponentially, and reserves dwindle ... no. What I find incredable, are the folks who say: "You drive a $40K-$50K auto, and you're complaining about fuel costs?" or "I don't care if gas hits $12 a gallon, because I can afford it, and I refuse to drive in a small roller skate car" Those statements show the ultimate absence of understanding. The reason is because if Mr. Businesman's business nets several hundred thousand a year, well their business WON't net hundreds of thousands 'when' fuel DOES go that high ... and it WILL. People will be loosing their jobs, and cutting back, and THEN, folks won't be able to buy the wigets, or the services of Mr. hundreds of thousands per year guy. His / her customers will have to cut back just to get by. So how will he afford $12 a gallon then? ... much less $5 / a gallon. Suddenly he will care ... (s)he just doesn't yet 'get it'. Similarly, the person who doesn't understand why the $50K car owner is complaining has no understanding. The $50K car refueling owner MAY very well understand how detrimental fuel costs are, as they spiral ever upward ... and THAT's why they are complaining. It's the poor fellow who says, "you're complaining?" that doesn't necessarily get it. Ever upward spiraling fuel costs means EVERYTHING will continue to spiral upward, because EVERYTHING we need, from food, to fertilizer, to paint, asphalt, concrete, electricity, etc etc is now cheep, only because the fuel to make stuff is cheep. So yes, even the wealthiest are complaing, because they 'get it'. They realize fuel is just a barometer of what's really going on.

Welcome! Ethonol with worse mpg's? Well yaaaah, it's pretty common knowledge that there is less energy per gallon in alcohol fuel, just as there is 20% MORE energy per gallon in diesel. What ever you do, don't run E85 in your 400h ~ or ANY car not specifically designed for it. Being more corrosive, special parts are required.

Drop an electric motor in it please. In less than 2 years, we'll all be back in gas lines (70's de ja vu), or not, because it's not their day to buy gas, we'll all look back and remember how we threw cash around like this. NBC just ran an article how many of the Fed Energy execs feel we'll have to go back to rationing in that time frame, in order to keep fuel from hitting $12 a gallon. It's already $9 in several countires. Our fuel is heavily subsidized. Ah for the good ol' dinasaur days, when we could not feel guilty doing burnouts, crusing, sitting in the Sears parking lot w/ the AC running, cuz we were too lazy to walk into the store to keep cool ... and other gas wasting activities.

This is the hybrid thread, where the OP is asking about a hybrid application. Your avatar shows a non-hybrid. Perhaps your optima experience relates to a different story? We're speaking of the Yellow Top (not the Red), and we're speaking of hybrid application. Haven't yet seen / heard of failure for those two applications. Would be glad to know, though, if you've heard of any failure(s) in that specific regard. Gary

I'll PM you to avoid sounding like a comercial. As for the 'In service Date' ~ that's what I would have presumed. But the Toyota/Lexus terms are clear ... date of manufacture.

There I was, researching an extended warranty. BTW I got a GREAT deal directly from the manufacturer, that BLOWS away all others. I got a copy of the final contract. The warranty takes all items virtually out to 100,000 miles AND 7 yers from date of manufacture. They wrote in, "May 2005" What? I never realized production began that early! Am I the only owner living in that cave? When was YOUR '06 built, if you know. It's stamped on the sticker inside the driver's door frame.

Nooooh! ~ if the OP (and mburnicas) would have read prior posts ... you'd realize the tiny auxilary battery IS suseptable to being easily drained. It doesn't HAVE to do a crank start, so Toyota put in a battery just barely powerful enough to do what it needs to do (rather than what WE want it to do ... run the radio ... fiddle w/ the MFD ... leave the rear hatch ajar over night, etc). Yes, Toyota ought to have been wise enough to account for our goofy ways ... but they didn't. Maybe next model. IN the mean time, as others have stated in numerous threads (the search tool is a wonderful thing :P ) you can change out the OEM for the yellow Optima. I've done it on ONE of our hybrids, but not the other yet. It's a world of difference for reliability. Or ... you can carry 2 lantern batteries, soldered together in series for 12v @ 5amps as an auxilary source to boot up. Yes folks, test it with a fluke meter ... that's all thats drawn, in order to boot up the ecu's. Or, you can tie 8 flashlight batteries together to do the same thing ... I'm talking 'D' cells. other than that, welcome to lexusownersclub your infinite source for cool factoids :D edit: btw, the HSD doesn't have an alternater. Otherwise, you'd be running around in stealth ... with no alt belt spinning and no regen. The aux battery recharges off the traction pack / which in turn is recharged directly off the generater/motor hooked into the ICE.

ok, the raw nerve is bandaged over now :P . . . I do tend to rail on when it comes to HUGE corporate integrity vacumes. Ferarri? if we're segway'n to fast cars ... of the fastest 2 dozen cars (test based going from a standing stop, to 100mph, and slamming back to a dead stop) ... well ferarri doesn't even make the list of 25 fastest / street legals. In my fast car craze days, my preference, when tossing $$ out the window was the turbo 911. Tied for 6th: Porsche 911 Turbo 0mph-100mph-0mph time: 12.50 seconds will cost you $135,470 8th place: .... Corvette Z06 .... .. 0mph-100mph-0mph time: 13.80 seconds will cost you $84,195 Folks only have to pay an extra $50,000 to beat the Vette, by one second As gasoline becomes more of a historical fact, more & more speed frieks are finding the A123 type li-ion batteries can give 1000 lbs of instant torque, in pure electric vehicles. Gas burners cant match that, pound for pound. The electric tesla (production began last month) is computer controled to a 135mph max ... but I sure like to see what it'd do wide open.

I don't know about buttons on the 08, but if the 08's are like the prior 06-07's ... yes, you can disable 'em. However, it's not recommended, it can void the warranty, and cause damage to boot, it you over rev while disconected

A123 is pearched to do VERY well ... or jump off a cliff. GM will either use A123 for the Volt (if it ever gets off the drawing board, which many wonder about, as GM has a reputation of crushing its most inovative EV's) or GM will use a Chinese battery supplier. Very sad, that a company would tout itself as being 'all-american' in its comercials ... while it outsources to Canada, Mexico, China, etc, all the while it continues to layoff / shut down plants in the U.S.A. ... and yet GM never lays off its CEO's. The officers, directers at GM all manage to keep their salary high (or give their self bonesus when they 'save money' closing down plants), and retirement high, and med benefits high. Very irksome. A123 has some military contracts for their great battery technology. As long as A123 doesn't make a fatal mistake by putting all their eggs in one basket, they'll do fine. But the parts suppliers (for example) for EV1 manufacturing back in the late 90's & early 2000? They put all their hopes on mass production of that wonderful car (I got to drive my neighbor's while it was leased), only to have the rug pulled out from under. Be very carefull A123. GM's honcho Bob Lutz will lie, or do whatever it takes, at the expense of others to keep/make himself look good. In fact, what an irony ... when the Prius (and other hybrids) went into production, Lutz mocked them ... saying how stupid they were ... just a gymic ... money loosers ... they'd never catch on ... people want SUV's. Then again, Lutz lied about the EV1 ... saying that GM wanted big cars only, and no one wanted the EV1. He lied. There was a waiting list (even though it was nearly impossible to get on it) of over 5,000 people, even though you could only lease it ... even though it was less practical than a 4 seater. He lied about that. When Lutz was confronted with the list, he lied. Said, 'oh, they'd have never really bought/leased one. Heck, the corvette is low production, yet it never stopped GM from continuing production. Until they fire him? I'd rather bike to work (19 miles away) than buy GM, being run by such a crook. ok, of my soapbox.

Wow those sound cool and very James Bond! So you really think they could jack up my 400h on a dolly and roll it down a very steep, narrow driveway on dollies to then hook it up to a tow truck without making much noise? I snip . . . . Short answer: YES Longer answer: The 2 MOST effective crook stoppers. Lowjack & parts I.D. A driver & passenger window decal that indicates you've I.D.'d your parts will often send pro's on their way. No one wants to steal nickel metal hydride batteries, HSD, MFD's, cat converters, etc. knowing the car's VIN is etched into everything ... because the bad guys have a much harder time unloading said parts when they're traceable. Lowjack can be beat too, but more times than not, it'll give the cops time to triangulate where your car is headed, and often, cops will wait to see where the car goes ... even if it's just a drop off spot (left, to see if the car is lowjacked) ... the cops may wait & wait & wait ... than continue the followup once it's moved to a chop shop. But move to Joy-Zee? Safe? Ahhh, not according to crime stats: :P http://www.morganquitno.com/safecity12.htm Oh ~ I'm sure there are SOME nice areas. and ... Not that L.A. is a paragon of safe havens ... in fact up by dodger stadium is one of the all time worst areas for stolen cars. Woo hoo! Our so cal city is 4th safest! http://www.morganquitno.com/cit06pop.htm#25 Very sorry to hear about your loss. It's hard to believe it'd get stolen, as usually it's the real popular cars that are the common targets. Keep us posted on your replacement.

Looks like CA gas prices win :P . . . Be glad ... be very glad, you don't live north of the bay area. On the bright side, these folks, like the rest of us will look back in 18 months or so, and they'll say, "remember when we though THAT amount was a lot to pay for a gallon". Just like all comodities, the price will ocasionally drop . . . on its ever upward spiral. Hopefully next year Mitsubishi will come out w/ their pure electric ... a small car, but I sure don't need status, just to get from pont A to B, especially if transportation costs become more than 5% of spendable income.

You can do better on a used '06. Example of successful sale here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...em=330232016116 That's what we did, and then we paid $1,600 to have it shipped to our MT address. Even after shipping it was still a great deal. "CERTIFIED" ?!? Don't get suckered into that term. If it aint new, heck I'LL 'certify' that it's used :P If you get an '06 it'll likely have under 48K miles . . . maybe on average, under 30K miles. Certify it your self ! As long as it has less than 4 years or 48K miles, Lexus will let you buy an extended warranty / service contract. Our extended warranty from Lexus was $2080. Zero deductable, bumper to bumper. 7 years, 100,000 miles. You'd have to be REALLY slow (and I know you're not) to not understand that a dealer saying a car is 'Certified' is simply giving you an extended warranty, then building it into the price. And some 'certified' thingie may not even be as good a deal as just buying the Lexus extended service contract. Anywho, whether you buy '06 '07 or '08 ... heck buy it used ... let someone else take the hit paid on 'brand new' and you'll save a bundle. Ours was an early lease return, with less than 10,000 miles, and it was just 3 or 4 months old, i believe. Good shopping! You'll love your 400h.

We use out association. Their hedger/trimmer/mower/sprinklerfixer/fertilizer guys come by on thursday.